Chelsea will have to reorganise their furniture if they are to accommodate the interstellar signing of Erling Haaland this summer.
If what the Athletic reported is true about Chelsea wanting to buy the most prestigious talent on the planet, then a serious effort will have to be made in housing him at Stamford Bridge.
Breaking open several piggy banks and collecting any spare change in order to lure him away from Borussia Dortmund is just the first stepping stone.
Frank Lampard will then need to make a verdict over who makes way from his already star-studded squad for the seismic striker.
Without a doubt, Haaland would be Chelsea’s first-choice forward if he leaves Dortmund this year. It would be irrefutable to leave out a player who has scored 63 goals in 57 games since the start of last season. Or to omit the 2020 Golden Boy winner.
To put into context, that is 18 more than Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud have scored combined in the same period.
And it is likely they shall be the pair to be ushered aside as Haaland takes centre stage, if he is to join. Giroud’s future has been on tenterhooks for a while and this is perhaps the final nail in his coffin.
Abraham has the backing of his manager but may have to accept his role as understudy for cup competitions and lesser games.
Perhaps the most intriguing dilemma is that of Timo Werner. Haaland would be following in the footsteps of the German, both arriving with big expectations for big bucks from the Bundesliga.
Werner has yet to find the form of 95 goals for RB Leipzig that made him such lucrative purchase. Upon Haaland’s heavy arrival, Lampard might permanently shift him out wide like he’s done on numerous occasions this campaign.
Therefore, the opportunities for one Chelsea winger would be slashed considerably. Considering the £40m (The Guardian) and £57.6m (Sky Sports) spent on Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic respectively, Lampard is unlikely to displace them for financial reasons.
This leaves Callum Hudson-Odoi as the outlier. He has been subjected to starting on the bench more than his fair share this term, a job he doesn’t deserve to be filling.
The 20-year-old has plenty of interested suitors he run to if Chelsea overlook him, none more so than Bayern Munich. Hudson-Odoi may be the crucial trade to ensure Haaland’s priceless signature.
